The Start of a Blayze
by Transformersfan123
Summary: Commander ApeTrully wasn't always hidden inside a costume, and out of it, he wasn't always a king. As a young child, he was the renowned son of the strict king of the monkeys. All great leaders have their humble beginnings. Rated for language.


This is my first Hero 108 fic, but not for long. I'm planning on writing one detailing Lin Chung's past and then...something else. Anywho, please enjoy. Questions, suggestions, and requests are welcome.

* * *

Blayze pouted angrily. Why did he have to learn this anyways? He wasn't going to be king for a long while. He stared down at the parchment and rolled his eyes. His parents were too paranoid. The words were etched in the language of the monkeys, so the young monkey had no problems reading it, but he didn't _want_ to read it.

"Stupid rules…" Blayze spat, standing up.

"And where do you think you're going?" a firm voice asked.

Blayze flinched and slowly turned around. The small red monkey almost whimpered at the burning gaze of his father Severne. The Monkey Prince stood straight after a moment and met his father's eyes without hesitation.

"I'm going out to play with Hardwin," Blayze said calmly.

"No, you're not," Severne replied coldly. "You must learn the rules."

"Why?" Blayze demanded. "Why must I learn these stupid laws? Some of them are utterly ridiculous. Like this one: _'Monkeys must avoid humans at all costs.'_ What's the point of that one?"

"Humans are horrid creatures," Severne replied. "They killed your grandfather."

"But that was an accident!" Blayze exclaimed. "The humans even sent gifts to apologize!"

"They killed him," Severne replied. "They are monsters that must be avoided. That is the most important rule in the Monkey Kingdom."

"But the other animals are friends with the hu-" Blayze started.

"The other animals are wrong!" Severne shouted. "You are to stay in here and learn this roll of parchment by heart! That's an order."

Blayze watched the Monkey King storm away with cold eyes. Tears threatened to spill out, but he pushed them back. He didn't care what his father said. He was going to go play with Hardwin. He hurried to the widow and leaped out with a smirk. He skittered down the vines, laughing softly; his father should know better than to try to control him. He was wild as a young monkey could be, and not even the king could command him about. He swung through the city with ease, searching for his friend.

"Hardwin!" Blayze shouted when he saw the dark blue monkey. "Hardwin!"

"Blayze!" Hardwin cried out in delight, swinging over to the red monkey. They nuzzled their faces together. "Boy it's been a while," the blue monkey said happily.

"I'm not supposed to be out," Blayze admitted with a mischievous grin. "They forbade me."

Hardwin laughed. "You never listen, do you?"

"Nope," Blayze replied.

"Severne isn't going to be happy," Hardwin said quietly.

"I don't care. Why should I listen to him when he doesn't listen to me?"

Hardwin looked down. "I don't have an answer to that, my Prince."

Blayze frowned. "I've asked you not to call me that. Call me by my name."

"Sorry Blayze," Hardwin said, not sounding sorry at all. "So what do you want to do before he comes looking for us?"

"I don't really know…Wait…Have you ever seen a human?"

"Human! Blayze, we can't! You know they're monsters! They'll kill us!"

"I don't believe that! My father is the one that made that stupid law and I think it's grounded in fictitious events or events that were hyperbolized because of his paranoia and anger!"

"…What?" Hardwin's face held confusion.

"My father either made it up or exaggerated what really happened because he was scared and angry," Blayze simplified.

"Oh…you know you shouldn't talk all fancy in front of me. I can't understand a damned word you say."

Blayze tittered at the bad language, his eyes alighting with delight. He and Hardwin were at the age where it gave them a thrill to curse when there were no adults around.

"Well then, let's get the fuck out of here! I want to see humans!" Blayze squealed, the feeling of his lips tingling making him giggle.

Blayze and Hardwin took off, swinging through the trees with ease. They went in the direction that was closest to an edge of the forest. They froze where the trees stopped, looking out hesitantly. There was hardly any cover out there…

"Well," Blayze said nervously. "Let's go."

"Yeah…out there…where we'll be punished severely if we're caught…" Hardwin added.

They looked at each other, grinned, and then shot out of the forest, running swiftly. They had been running a good fifteen minutes when they heard something that wasn't monkey…it sounded strange, a warbling sound accompanied by sniffing and whimpering. They glanced at each other again then slowly edged towards the noise. Hidden in a little valley surrounded by rocks was a little human. As they had never seen a human before, they weren't sure if this one was male or female…or if it was dangerous.

"What's it making that noise for?" Hardwin asked.

"I think it's…crying," Blayze replied. "Yeah, look at the tears."

"What's it crying for?" Hardwin asked. Blayze hesitantly moved forward, closer to the human. "What're you doing?"

The human had noticed them, tears in its eyes. Hardwin swallowed behind Blayze, but inched forward slowly. The red monkey paused just out of reach of the human, tilting his head curiously.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly. The human stared at him blankly.

"I…don't think it speaks monkey," Hardwin said, pausing beside Blayze.

"How do we figure out what's wrong then?" Blayze asked with a snort. The human looked frightened at the angry sound. "Oh…I scared it."

"Hey, aren't humans supposed to be tall?" Hardwin asked suddenly.

"Yeah. This one's so little. I think it's nothing but a child, like us!" Blayze said, his eyes sparking with an idea. "That means that it likes to hug!"

"What makes you think that?" Hardwin asked frantically as Blayze stood up on his hind legs and made to move closer to the miserable human.

"Latimer told me on his last visit that little humans like to be hugged...I think this human's a girl. That means they like to be hugged even more!"

"How can you tell it's a girl?" Hardwin asked curiously.

"You see the things that she's wearing? Latimer told me that males wear bottoms to cover their legs, and it hugs the limbs. Females have that flowing material that covers their legs, and it flares out. He called it…a dress? Or a skirt…one of the two."

After he explained, he slowly moved to the human girl and sat beside her. She stared at him a second before reaching out. Blayze stiffened, biting his bottom lip nervously as her hand got closer to him. He squeezed his eyes shut at the last second and felt her furless, featherless hand touch his belly. She kept it still for a moment then began to stroke. It…tickled actually, and the red monkey let out a little laugh in delight. The girl jerked back, making a frightened noise.

Blayze frowned and moved even closer, letting out a soft noise of curiosity. The girl hesitated then reached forward and put her arms around the monkey in a hug. Blayze squeaked and placed his arms around her, holding her tight. She nuzzled his neck then pulled back, looking at him with big eyes then pointing to the top of one of the rocks. Something was on it…

Blayze pushed the girl's hands off him and leaped up, climbing swiftly to see what it was. It looked like a miniature version of a human. He picked it up tenderly and found it was soft and pliable. He jumped down, tilting his head curiously as he offered her the little thing. She squealed loudly and grabbed it up, hugging it tightly, and then reached over to hug the red monkey again. Blayze giggled.

"Humans aren't dangerous at all!" he laughed, looking over at Hardwin as she finally released him.

"I want to touch her!" the blue monkey exclaimed, hurrying up to her.

The human girl looked frightened. "No," Blayze murmured, biting his bottom lip. "Hardwin's a friend. He won't hurt you…"

The red monkey hummed thoughtfully then embraced his friend. The blue monkey gasped in surprise, but returned the hug. After seeing that display of affection, the girl hugged the blue monkey too. Hardwin giggled and did a front flip in joy, a wide smile stretching his face. The little human reached over and grabbed the red monkey's paw, tugging on it and starting to walk.

Blayze and Hardwin followed curiously, their eyes full of delight…until they saw the village full of adult humans that they were heading towards. Blayze pulled lightly back, fear in his eyes. Little humans were different than big humans…The little girl cried out, saying something in human and waving at the bigger humans.

They all exclaimed and started running towards them. Blayze panicked and began jerking back in earnest, trying to get away from the scary humans. The girl fell to the ground and he and Hardwin leaped up frantically, climbing up the nearest tall thing that could find, which happened to be a house. The little girl was surrounded by humans, and she started to cry again.

They were obviously trying to comfort her, but to little avail. She was reaching up towards the two frightened monkeys. Blayze looked over at Hardwin, his eyes holding questions.

"I don't like hearing the little human cry," he murmured.

"But she's crying for us," Hardwin whimpered fearfully.

"That makes it worse. We have to fix this."

"But that means we need to go down there…" Hardwin swallowed nervously.

Blayze's face turned cold. "I thought 'Hardwin' meant 'courageous friend'?"

With that last remark, the red monkey jumped nimbly down and skittered through the crowd to sit next to the little girl. He tilted his head and made a curious noise in his throat before leaning forward and nuzzling her gently. The girl squealed and wrapped her arms around him. There was a simultaneous noise from all the adult humans, but it didn't sound bad…Blayze pulled away from the human when a paw was placed on his shoulder, turning to look into Hardwin's glittering blue eyes. He was rather pleased to see that they held shame and embarrassment.

"You're right. As usual," Hardwin muttered. "I'm sorry."

"Tell that to her," Blayze said, gesturing at the human.

"But…she doesn't speak monkey…"

Blayze rolled his eyes. "Hug her!" he exclaimed, pushing Hardwin over to her.

The adults made that same noise when the blue monkey hugged her too. Blayze and Hardwin looked at each other and laughed. Humans were bad at all. In fact, they were quite cuddly.

"I can't wait to tell my father!" Blayze exclaimed, his red eyes twinkling in delight.

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"YOU DID WHAT?" Severne roared in anger.

"Went to go see some humans!" Blayze retorted confidently while Hardwin looked like he was about to faint; courageous he may be, but he wasn't used to dealing with a pissed off Monkey King. "And you were dead wrong!"

"Oh, really? Do tell," his father growled, his eyes narrowing angrily.

Blayze did so, describing in detail about what he and Hardwin had done with the human girl. When he was done, he looked into his father's eyes expecting to see pride. Instead he saw anger…no, it was deeper than anger. It was unadulterated rage.

"Hardwin, get out of here now," Blayze said quietly, his voice tight.

"But…"

"That's an order!" Blayze roared, turning to growl at his friend.

Hardwin squealed in fear, turning to race out. He knew when Blayze used his Prince status, something was wrong. Very wrong. The blue monkey wondered fearfully what was going to happen to his friend.

Blayze watched Hardwin race out, his heart pounding violently in his chest. He knew what would happen, and sure enough, his father ordered every other monkey out of the room and for the doors to be locked behind them. The red monkey's breath came out in a shudder and he bit his lower lip when the last door slammed shut.

"Come here, boy," Severne growled.

Blayze turned and moved to stand directly in front of his father. "Yes sir?" he asked quietly.

"You disobeyed me. You know what that means."

"Yes sir."

Pain shot through Blayze's skull and he cried out in pain. He pushed himself up on his elbows, tears already leaking out of his eyes. He was struck down again with a fist to the middle of his back. The red monkey choked back a sob and curled up tightly throughout the rest of the beating. The pain clouded the young monkey's mind, making the passage of time unknown to him. He only knew when he stopped receiving the pain. He opened his eyes and looked at his father through the filter of agony.

"Go to your room," Severne said coldly. "And if I ever hear of you speaking to humans again, it will be worse."

As Blayze walked silently to his room he growled, so low that nobody heard him, "Then you will never hear of me doing it again because I won't tell you."

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Blayze stood silently in the castle, his eyes scanning the interior of the fancy palace. The injuries from the beating were mostly healed, but he was still a bit sore. He heard a squawk of surprise behind him.

"Blayze! What are you doing here, young Prince?" a surprised voice asked.

"Hello Latimer," Blayze murmured, turning to look at the owner of said voice.

The Parrot King's bright green feathers were shiny and sleek and his bright emerald eyes were startled. Blayze chuckled softly at the look.

"What are you doing here?" Latimer asked again.

"I want you to teach me human," Blayze replied softly.

"You're joking!" Latimer exclaimed.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" the red monkey asked seriously.

"But your father…"

"A week ago, my father beat the living shit out of me because I was kind to a little human girl. Then he ignored me and wouldn't let me get any medical attention. My mother found out and told me I deserved it. Now think about that and tell me if you think I should listen to what my father tells me to do."

Latimer and his parrot guards looked sick and horrified. The red monkey realized that tears were streaking silently down his furred face, but he couldn't stop them. Latimer was beside him in an instant, wrapping his wings around the Prince and nuzzling the child's furred face. Blayze broke down, sobbing quietly into the Parrot King's feathers. When his tears were spent, he pulled away and turned around, taking up the princely demeanor that his father had drilled into him.

"I will teach you human and I won't tell your father," Latimer finally said. "But you must promise to study hard."

"I will!" Blayze exclaimed eagerly. "I swear I will. I wish to communicate with that little girl!"

"Good," Latimer squawked.

"Oh…will you promise to not tell anybody about…that?" Blayze asked, his face warming beneath his fur.

"Of course. Brawk! Alright now, time for your first lesson in speaking human…"

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Blayze stared at Latimer, a small smile on his face. He had come a long way since that day in Parrot Castle. He was now both the king of the monkeys and the leader of an organization he'd come to call Big Green. His father and mother had died years ago in a freak accident, leaving him the sole heir to the monkey throne. Hardwin was now a close personal advisor to him, and he ran the city when he was away at Big Green. Latimer, after being found, was once again a wonderful friend and advisor. The little girl, whose name he'd found out later to be Solange, was now lost in the multitude of people who had been forced into hiding by HighRoller.

"I have not thought back on my past in ages," Blayze sighed softly. "In fact, I had almost forgotten my true name."

"Brawk! Haven't we all, my old friend?" the Parrot King asked with a sigh.

"Tell me, Latimer. Do you even know why we do not disclose our real names to the humans?" the red monkey asked; he and the Parrot King were locked in his room and he was out of costume.

"Well, Blayze, I thought you were trying to stay hidden…"

"Oh, ha, ha. I meant you and the other animal kings and queens," the Monkey King replied dryly.

"Brawk! I'm not really sure. It's just the way it has been since the war."

"I see."

"Blayze…when are you going to tell the rest of Big Green your secret?" Latimer asked quietly after a moment of silence.

"I do not know, Latimer. I just do not know…I cannot let this fall to pieces, no matter what. There has been too much work put into this, by me _and_ others. I know the humans would not follow a monkey, even if they are understanding creatures."

"You _don't_ know that though," the Parrot King argued. "You haven't asked them! You just assume this."

"It is my choice!" Blayze spat, fire in his eyes. A fierce knocking on the door interrupted them.

"Commander ApeTrully!" Mystique Sonia's voice came through the door.

"Besides, I have given them a hint," Blayze murmured in a low voice before switching to a friendly tone. "Yes, my dear?"

"There's a problem with Elephant King!" she said frantically.

"Yeah!" Mighty Ray's voice joined hers, and it was full of amusement. "He's being 'knotty'!" Mighty Ray laughed hard then cried out when Mystique hit him. "Hey, _that _was funny!"

Jumpy's titters of laughter come through next. "Mighty Ray…funny!"

"See! I told ya so!"

"Shut up! That's mean!"

"Please, stop fighting," Lin Chung's husky, soothing voice was heard over the fighting. "We need to help Elephant King."

"Poor Makani," Latimer sighed. "He just can't seem to keep his trunk straight."

"Thankfully, it is easy enough to solve," Blayze said with a smile as he slipped into his disguise.

With another sigh, he opened the door to his room. Mighty Ray and Mystique Sonia were rolling around on the ground, fighting…again. Jumpy Ghostface was laughing and hopping beside them, obviously lost in a daydream. Lin Chung was balanced up on his staff, his arms crossed. He looked up at Commander ApeTrully when he exited the room. Inside the costume, Blayze once again searched those eyes, looking for the secret hidden inside them, but once again, all he saw was the calm, gentle, patient person that Lin Chung allowed everybody to see.

Blayze wished Lin Chung would let him in. Even _Mano_ had let him in, telling his leader of the horrors of seeing his own parents murdered before his eyes…But no. Lin Chung had to be so damned unreadable. The most passion the Monkey King had seen from the stoic warrior was when the Elephant King had destroyed his drawing of a special tree.

"Come," ApeTrully sighed after a moment. "We must help Ma...We must help Elephant King." The disguised Monkey King had to stop himself from saying the red elephant's real name.

As they moved toward the room where Makani worked, ApeTrully's mind was contemplating the mystery of the tall boy...

* * *

Meaning of names- For animals, they are taken out of characteristics shown in early childhood. Solange was named for her physical radiance that matched the sun.

Blayze - There are several meanings for this name. The one in this story is 'spitfire' or 'full of fire'

Severne - Severe, harsh

Hardwin - As mentioned in the story 'courageous friend'

Latimer - Interpreter

Solange - Angel of the sun

Makani - Wind


End file.
